Watch Out For That Mistletoe
by CassyR5
Summary: "Hey, look. We're under the mistletoe again." And again and again. What could've happened had Austin & Ally kissed under the mistletoe that first time (Mix-Ups & Mistletoes, just more Auslly-fied). One-shot.


Watch Out For That Mistletoe

**Summary: "Hey, look. We're under the mistletoe again." And again and again. What could've happened had Austin & Ally kissed under the mistletoe that first time (Mix-Ups & Mistletoes, just more Auslly-fied).**

**A/N: There was some talk online about how there could've been more Auslly in Mix-Ups & Mistletoes, so I kinda decided to just write it, I guess, and I think it turned out okay.**

**Disclaimer: Austin & Ally is not mine.**

* * *

After the discussion of the Christmas party died down and Trish left for her job (on time for once), they decide to head up to the practice room to start working on their Christmas song. Or at least attempt to.

"You better watch out for that mistletoe, they're hanging..." Austin sings, "or you might have to pucker up and kiss someone." He turns to Ally on the last two words, a smirk on his face, and before she can even register what is about to happen, he plants a light kiss on her cheek.

As hard as she may try to hide it, he can still see the light redness of her cheeks as she blushes. "Funny," she says.

He shrugs. "I try."

They play around with the keys for a bit, thinking. Then Austin speaks up. "So I never did ask you what you anted for Christmas."

She stops playing and faces him. "You mean you haven't gotten me anything yet?"

He shrugs. "Maybe I have and I'm just making sure I won't have to worry about you not liking it."

She writes something in her songbook. Setting the pencil down, she says, "I'm sure whatever you got me I'll love."

He gapes at her. "Ally!"

She glances at him innocently. "What?"

"That's not very helpful," he pouts.

"No, it's not," she agrees. "But you have to admit it was kinda sweet."

"Yes, and it would be _so_ much sweeter of you to tell me what you wanted," he says, clasping his hands together.

"Yeah...but if you already got something, I don't really see the point," she replies.

He huffs. "Fine. Two can play at that game."

"And you're on the losing side if I don't think I need to ask you what you want," she retorts.

He goes to reply, but then replaces his words with a chuckle. "Let's just finish the song."

"Thank you," she says, her tone implying that she thinks the argument's ended in her favour. She turns back to her songbook, tapping her pencil against the paper in thought. Just as she goes to write something, though, Austin comes up with the brilliant idea to tickle her.

She drops her pencil and tries to remove his arms off of her, but with no success. "Austin!" she shrieks through the laughter. "Stop it!"

He laughs, more _at_ her than _with_ her, but doesn't stop. "Not until you tell me what you wanted," he says over her laughs.

She shakes her head. "No!" she giggles, still trying to pry herself away from him. He just pulls her closer, tickling her stomach.

Finally, she gives in. "Fine, fine!" she shouts. He stops tickling, but doesn't let go. She shoves his arms off her. "I'll tell you." She faces him, a serious expression on her face. "What I want for Christmas...is whatever you got me," she says, trying hard not to laugh after.

"That's not an answer!" he complains.

"Yeah, it is!" she disagrees. "It's just not the one you're looking for."

He glares at her. "Ally Dawson, I don't know what to do with you."

"You could help me finish the song is what you could do," she suggests.

A mischievous look appears in his eyes. "Or..."

She only has time to stand up before he pulls her back down in his lap, tickling her again, the song momentarily forgotten.

* * *

It's Christmas Eve, and they're in Sonic Boom putting the final touches on the decorations together. It's quiet and despite the fact there's no one else around and they're not talking while they work, it's nice.

Austin sets the last box down. "Well, that's the last of the decorations," he says.

He stands in front of her and, too late, Ally looks up and spots the mistletoe. "Hey, look. We're under the mistletoe again," she says.

He chuckles. "What do you know."

She meets his eyes nervously and he begins to lean forward and she does, too. She almost expects something to jump out and stop them but nothing does and before she knows it his lips are pressed against hers and he's rested one hand on her cheek, keeping her close.

She leans back first, a smile on her face.

He removes his hand from her cheek and puts it in his pocket. They're both silent for a moment before Austin clears his throat. He begins to say, "Listen, Ally, I -"

"They're here!" Trish shouts from outside the store, following Dez, who is pushing a cart in front of him. They back away from each other to make room for them. Once out of the way, Austin looks to Ally to tell her they'll talk later, but she's too focused on what Trish and Dez have brought in.

He makes a mental note to talk to Ally later, then goes to join his friends in the arrival of the Austin dolls.

* * *

Their performance at the Kid's Club Party starts out amazingly, the kids dancing along and having fun.

It's not far in the song when Austin comes across the line about mistletoe and, remembering their writing session from a few days ago, decides to do a little reenactment, and follows Ally up the stairs singing. He's not sure she expects it, but she must pick up on it sooner than he hoped for because the minute he leans in to kiss her she ducks away, which causes him to stumble in confusion. Luckily he's able to recollect himself quick enough to continue singing, but in the back of his mind he's not really sure he's entirely pleased with what Ally did. He knows that she was probably just fooling around, maybe getting back at him for how their writing session went - he's fine with that. But too much of his mind is questioning other possibilities, and he's not liking any of them.

He's pretty sure he's over-thinking the whole thing, but still. He won't be able to sleep tonight until he's confident everything will be okay.

* * *

They're under the mistletoe again, and having just received an amazing present from Austin, Ally can't really think of any other way to thank him.

After mentioning the mistletoe, he's watching her expectantly, and all she can come up with is something about "rules being rules" and the next thing she knows they're leaning in and almost kissing again. And the thing is, she does want to kiss him, she really does, but she can't help thinking that there should be more to their relationship than just being friends with the occasional - okay, quite often - touch of romance. That's when she speaks up.

"Wait," she gets out.

He leans back, a hint of disappointment and confusion in his eyes. "What is it?"

"We can't keep doing this," she says.

He continues to look at her confused. "Doing what?" he asks slowly.

She waves between them. "_This_," she repeats. "We can't keep kissing or almost kissing, but all the while not...not actually being together." She lets out a huge breath she didn't realize she was holding in, almost as if some weight was lifted off her shoulders a little.

He sighs. "You're right," he says. "I was trying to -" But he's cut off when he hears a commotion from the beach and turns to see Dez in his Santa suit flying towards them and is forced to back away from Ally yet again.

Once the situation dies down, Ally walks off the deck and is about to go back to the store to get her stuff and head home when Austin grabs her wrist to stop her. She turns around.

"We need to talk, Ally," he says. "Wait for me at the store?"

She's not sure how to respond properly at the moment so she just nods, pulling her arm out of Austin's grip. Then she turns away again and walks to the store.

Once there, she runs into her dad, who was just leaving to come get her, so she tells him she'll meet him back at home. Alone, she waits in the practice room, pacing back and forth to sort out her thoughts. She knows what Austin wants to talk about, she's sure of that. And she knows for a fact that this conversation needs to be done. It can't go unsaid forever. Still, part of her is silently hoping it could've been avoided for a little while longer, at least until she's sure she knows what to say and what will happen after. Unfortunately, it's too late to back out because just then, Austin walks in.

She stops pacing and walks up to him.

"Listen, I -" she says, the same time Austin says, "Look, I know -"

They both laugh nervously. "Sorry," they say together, causing them to laugh again.

"You were saying?" Austin says.

Ally shakes her head. "No, you wanted to talk, not me, so..." She waves at him. "You continue."

"Okay," he says, a slight chuckle in his voice. He takes a moment to recollect himself. On the way here, he kept thinking over and over again what to say to Ally, but now that the moment's here, he can't remember a single word. Why is it all of a sudden so hard to talk to her?

Taking a deep breath, he decides to just go for it. He says, "I don't like being just friends, Ally. That's what I was trying to say earlier and that's what I was going to tell you yesterday." He pauses as his thoughts become clearer to him, because now that he's started speaking, he can't stop, and the words just come tumbling out, one after another. "When we kissed yesterday, I felt happy, the kind of happy that I don't want to ever go away. The kind I get from being with you. And I don't mean being with you, like hanging out, but being with you like...like _being with you_. You bring out the best in me, Ally, and I -" He's cut off when Ally wraps her arms around him in a hug. He returns it, smiling over her shoulder.

She smiles. "I feel the same way."

He pulls back. "You do?"

She nods, moving her hands in front of her. "I'm just worried that..."

"That it won't work out again, I know. I am, too." He takes her hands in his. "But I think we can make it work this time."

Her smile grows and so does his. "Really?" she asks.

He nods. "Yeah."

He looks up. "Hey, look. We're under the mistletoe again," he says.

Ally glances up, confused. "There's no mistletoe, Austin, it's just the ceiling."

"Doesn't really matter, though, now does it?" he asks, and before she can question what he's saying, he's got his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her.

He pulls back first, and she leans into him in a hug, her arms around his waist.

He rests his chin on her head. "Merry Christmas, Ally," he says.

She smiles. "Merry Christmas, Austin."

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated. :)**


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